


Goodbye

by maxride003



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Multi, OT6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5983621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxride003/pseuds/maxride003
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was supposed to be a quick trip out for food takes a horrible turn, and lands Michael in the hospital. As time drags on, the doctors become more sure that he isn't going to recover, and his boyfriends struggle to accept the fact that they may soon be down to only five.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thegreenpuma88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreenpuma88/gifts).



> Another fic request for the awesome thegreenpuma88! They always give me such interesting and new prompts, and also lots of feels. Thanks for that. But anyway, enjoy the first shippy fic I've written!

Michael drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, staring down a red light that he swore was just refusing to turn. Really, it was probably just because lunch time in Austin was hell and he was on a less-busy side street, but Michael was convinced that the light was staying red out of spite. It didn’t want him to move from this intersection in order to get food for himself and his collection of needy boyfriends. It wanted him to fucking starve.

The supposedly short trip would have been easier if any of the others had decided to come with him. Instead, their lazy asses were still back at the apartment, relishing in the start of the weekend and not having to deal with traffic problems.

Michael had asked if any of them wanted to come, but all of them hadn’t seemed overly interested. Ryan had loudly complained about how leaving the apartment would mean that he had to put on pants, and while Michael hadn’t been overly concerned about whether or not Ryan was wearing pants, he supposed they were necessary for going out in public.

Ray had been playing a game while sprawled across the couch, with his legs thrown across Gavin’s lap. He had vehemently refused to turn off the game and leave, and Gavin had insisted that with Ray’s legs where they were, he couldn’t move. Michael called bullshit, because Ray wasn’t even a hundred thirty pounds soaking wet, but Gavin was also a scrawny weakling, so maybe moving Ray really was more difficult for him than anyone else. Michael still didn’t quite believe it, but he didn’t want to argue.

Geoff and Jack had been doing something on the computer, and Jack had almost joined Michael, except Geoff insisted that he needed Jack and Jack couldn’t leave. Geoff refused, because he was busy. So Michael was sent out on his own to get food for everyone, while they got to sit back and relax and not deal with this piece of shit traffic light.

To be fair, Michael had pulled shit like that before himself. He hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, because it was wet and cold outside and Ryan’s body was really warm against his. Gavin had whined about Michael not wanting to go out drinking one night, because all Michael wanted to do was watch television with Jack. So it wasn’t like he hadn’t bailed on one of the others himself, but it made today no less annoying.

The light flashed green (fucking _finally_ ), and Michael roared through the intersection, his engine growling along with his stomach. A cheerful little tune from Zelda chirped from Michael’s jeans, and he dug around in his pocket for his phone. He thumbed the button, lighting up the screen and showing the newest text, which was highlighted on his lock screen. Michael glanced down at the phone briefly, reading through the message quickly.

 _Gavino: Do you have food yet?_ Michael snorted and shook his head, tossing his phone in the cup holder. If Gavin was that impatient, he should’ve come along. They could’ve eaten in the car on the way back.

Michael turned his attention back to the road, just in time to see a truck barreling toward his car in the wrong lane. With a shout, Michael hit the brakes and wrenched his car to the side in an attempt to avoid the truck.

The tires of Michael’s car skid, and the truck came at him too quickly, had started too close, the dumbass driver hadn’t given him enough time to _move_ …

There was a huge crash, the sound of tearing metal and breaking glass and a crunch like a crushed soda can. It felt like the inside of the car exploded – in a split second, Michael felt trapped, constricted, and his entire body flared up in pain. Little cuts riddled his arms, his face, literally any exposed skin from the glass that had shattered inward from his windshield. Michael’s stomach rolled and his head ached, and his cheek rested on the airbag. It smelled horrible, like smoke and pungent car fluids.

Despite that, Michael really wasn’t too uncomfortable, not the longer he sat there. The airbag felt good under his head, like a firm pillow, and the pain of his injuries was fading fast. It was almost impossible to open his eyes, and Michael finally stopped trying. It felt good to have his eyes closed, anyway. Why would he change that?

He didn’t even notice when he finally stopped noticing everything, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

\-----

“Ow!” Gavin cried, twitching up into the fetal position on the couch. Or as close as he could get while Ray was still sprawled across him. “Your elbow is crushing my nob!”

Ray twisted to smirk up at Gavin from where he lay on Gavin’s lap, after he had decided he wanted to flip around on the couch. The pressure let up from Gavin’s crotch as Ray moved his elbow and Ray teased, “Aw, we wouldn’t wanna do that. You’ve got little enough there as it is.”

Gavin sputtered belligerently, and Ryan coughed out a surprised laugh from the armchair nearby. Their reactions seemed to fuel Ray’s smile, since it grew like the Cheshire cat’s. Scowling, Gavin shoved at his arm and Ray, already precariously balanced on the edge of the couch, toppled to the floor with a surprised shout and a heavy thump.

“Stop the bullying!” Ray cried, pushing himself up on his elbows and pouting pathetically. “He’s bullying me, Ryan! You saw!” Ryan just laughed, and Gavin started chuckling along with him.

“You big baby,” Gavin said with a grin, hauling Ray back up onto the couch by the too-large sweatshirt he was wearing. Gavin was pretty sure it was one of Jack’s, though at this point, everyone had laid claim to whatever clothes they could fit into.

Ray flopped on the couch with Gavin, half sitting on Gavin’s lap, and he wrapped an arm lightly around Gavin’s shoulders. “And yet you love me,” Ray pointed out, his teasing smile back in place as he leaned forward and kissed Gavin on the lips.

It was a quick kiss, and Ray pulled back far sooner than Gavin would have preferred, but Ray seemed to have left his smile behind, because Gavin could feel one growing on his face.

“Gay,” Ryan said mildly, and the comforting light glowing in Ray’s eyes shifted and changed to a mischievous gleam.

“I think Ryan’s forgetting we’re not the only gay ones here,” Ray said and Gavin chuckled as both of them turned to look at Ryan.

“Think we should remind him?” Gavin asked, and Ryan froze, eyes flicking warily between the two lads.

“That’s what boyfriends do, right?” Ray answered.

“Guys…” Ryan said slowly, pushing himself back in the armchair, planting his hands on the arms of the chair so he could push himself up out of his seat in a second.

However, Ryan wasn’t expecting Ray to launch himself from Gavin’s lap, jumping the distance from the couch to the armchair like a cat. He didn’t land as nicely, though, and ended up sprawled across the chair, flailing a little with his long, gangly limbs and hitting Ryan a couple times in the process.

Gavin grinned, hopping up from the couch, and he noticed Jack and Geoff had stopped what they were doing to watch. Geoff’s phone started trilling obnoxiously and he grabbed at it, while Gavin stepped behind the armchair, wrapping his arms around Ryan while Ray finally got himself situated properly.

“Hello?” Geoff said, a laugh clear in his voice, while Ryan made a big, animated scene about trying to avoid his boyfriends’ kisses, despite the fact that he was now trapped in his chair by the two lads. Gavin and Ray went along with it, loudly lamenting the fact that Ryan didn’t love them and how he didn’t appreciate their affection.

“Yeah, this is him,” Geoff continued, spinning in the desk chair. Gavin could see the movement out of the corner of his eye. “Sure, I do… Wait, what d’you mean, emergency contact? What emergency?” The laughter died from Geoff’s voice quickly, replaced with voice-cracking concern that made his words shoot up almost a whole octave in certain places. Gavin pulled away from Ryan, his hands slipping away and resting lightly on Ryan’s arms instead as he looked at Geoff worriedly. Something definitely wasn’t right.

“Oh, uh… Fuck. Fuck, yeah. Yeah, we’ll… We’ll be right there…” Geoff hung up without saying goodbye, and he stared down at the phone in his hands blankly. It didn’t seem like he was even there anymore – his eyes were unfocused, staring at something besides his phone. His hands started shaking, and his next breath suddenly caught in his throat audibly.

Jack frowned and put a hand on Geoff’s shoulder, gently taking the phone from his hands. Jack’s free hand wrapped around one of Geoff’s, and Geoff clamped down, grabbing at Jack desperately. “Geoff, what’s wrong? What happened?” Jack asked gently.

Geoff let out a heavy breath, his head dropping so his chin was resting on his chest, and Gavin was pretty sure he just started shaking more. Gavin was worried – Geoff didn’t often get so upset. Sure, he got mad and annoyed and worked up like that, but this was something else entirely.

“That…that was the hospital,” Geoff said, his voice so quiet and thready that Gavin had trouble picking out the individual words. Gavin pulled away from the armchair, moving closer to Geoff and Jack. “It’s Michael. He…he was in an accident, and he’s there… He’s in _surgery_ and just… Fuck!” Geoff shouted out the last word, pulling a hand away from Jack and slamming his fist down on the desk. Gavin jumped at the sudden noise, while at the same time, it felt like his heart stopped and he wouldn’t be able to move.           

It felt like a hand had wrapped around his heart and his lungs so tight they had stopped working. His stomach had shot up to add to the lump in his throat that had suddenly appeared. Michael was in the hospital. Surgery. Gavin had literally just texted him twenty minutes ago! Sure, Michael hadn’t answered, but Michael had seemed a little peeved when he’d left. Gavin had just assumed Michael was ignoring his texts, just being his normal grumpy self, that nothing was really wrong. Sure, he should’ve been back by now, but the traffic wasn’t great at this time of day – it wasn’t odd that Michael would be held up…           

But an accident. That wasn’t what Gavin had been expecting when Michael didn’t answer his stupid text. The hospital, _surgery_ , it must’ve been bad… And every single one of them had let Michael go off alone, were too far away to have done anything to try and fix it. Maybe if Gavin had actually gotten up from the couch – the couch he had been “trapped” on by Ray’s scrawny ass legs – and gone with Michael, maybe…maybe he’d be okay.           

Or they’d both be hurt and in the hospital, and the others would be even more upset.           

“We need to be there,” Ryan said, and Gavin slowly looked over his shoulder. Ray let Ryan slide him onto the ground, and Ray didn’t even try to stand, collapsing on the ground like a child acting as if his legs didn’t work as he stared down at the floor, eyes wide and mouth open in shock. Ryan himself looked scared – he was playing with the hem of his shirt, his fingers shaking and twitching and constantly moving, his eyes a little too wide and restless – but he’d set his jaw and was trying not to show it. “I’ll drive.”           

Ryan moved away, his steps stiff and shoulders tight, as he went to grab his keys off the kitchen counter. Gavin didn’t hesitate long before he went to help Ray up so they could go. Ryan was right – they had to be there, for when the doctors fixed Michael. Michael would probably cuss them out big time if they weren’t, though at this point, Gavin would also find his normal anger a relief.

\----- 

The hospital didn’t feel right. It was all clean and bright and sterile, and it barely looked like anyone had even stepped inside, even with the people scattered around the waiting room and the nurses at the desk. Jack went right up to the desk to talk to the nurses, and it almost didn’t look like he was affected by this at all, except Ray knew that he’d been too quiet on the drive over. He was worried and scared, just like the rest of them.           

Ryan ushered everyone else to seats in the waiting room, and Ray collapsed on the hard plastic chair immediately. His legs felt weak and noodle-like, and he didn’t think they would hold him upright for long. Gavin sat next to him and Ray pulled his knees up to his chest, letting Gavin wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him close.           

Geoff dropped into one of the chairs, resting his elbows on his knees and putting his face in his hands. He stared down at the floor between his fingers, one leg bouncing anxiously. Ryan stayed standing, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, his arms crossed over his chest.           

It didn’t take long for Jack to wander back over to them, and he put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, squeezing gently. He took a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Michael’s still in surgery. He apparently had a lot of internal bleeding. They said he was hit by a wrong way driver… But they won’t tell me much more.”           

“How the hell did this happen?” Geoff muttered, his words slightly muffled by the palms of his hands. “This shouldn’t have happened…”           

“One of us should have gone with him,” Ryan groaned, scowling as he rubbed at his forehead. “Maybe we could have stopped it. Maybe he’d be okay…”           

“And what if you went with him and you were in there, too?” Ray asked quietly, a shudder running down his back at the thought. If any of them had gone, and they couldn’t help Michael… That would mean more of his boyfriends, more of the people he held close and dear, would be hurt. He didn’t want to think about getting this call for more than just one person. Hearing that it was just Michael was bad enough.           

Geoff looked up, and though Ray swore he saw tears forming in the tattooed man’s eyes, he glared between Ray and Ryan. “ _No_ ,” he said firmly. “Don’t say that shit. It’s not our faults, just the fault of the asshole who hit him. And he’s gonna be _fine_. Right? He’ll be fine.” Geoff’s voice cracked and wavered, and his harsh look broke down to something sad and pleading and broken.           

“Course he will,” Gavin said, quick to jump on the opportunity, and his normal light-hearted tone was forced and strained. “Michael’s my boi. He’s _our_ boi. He’s tough. He’ll make it okay.”           

Ray nodded, and despite Gavin’s words, worry twisted his gut and threatened to make him throw up, and he was afraid to try standing in case his legs gave out on him, and he was just so scared that things wouldn’t be okay and it wouldn’t work out.           

It was this fear that made Ray look up from Gavin’s chest every time he heard footsteps approaching, and the disappointment he felt when it was just some random person just made the ache in his chest even worse. Jack or Geoff or Ryan would continually go up to the nurses and ask if there was any change, and they were continually sent away with nothing to show for their efforts. Geoff lost it the last time he went and wound up screaming at the nurse, throwing around curses and idle threats, and he only shut up and sat back down when the nurse threatened to have him removed from the building.           

But no matter how many times the gents went up trying to look for answers, or how much time passed – Ray wasn’t even sure when they’d gotten there, let alone how long they’d been there – he and Gavin stayed where they were. Ray gripped the front of Gavin’s shirt, needing to know that someone was there and wasn’t leaving, and Gavin ran his hand absently through Ray’s hair. It was just that comforting motion, and Gavin’s continued presence, that kept Ray from breaking down entirely.           

He wasn’t sure how much longer it was, or how many people had filed past without much more than pitying glances at the small group huddled in the corner, before a doctor finally stepped toward them. Ray finally lifted his head, and he was pretty sure he’d have crease marks on his cheek from the folds of Gavin’s shirt.           

“Is one of you Geoffrey Ramsey?” the doctor asked, consulting the clipboard in his hands briefly.           

“Yeah. That’s me,” Geoff said, lifting his head and pushing himself upright. Ryan had sat down next to him a while ago, and Ryan’s arm slid from Geoff’s shoulders, dropping down to grab his hand as Ryan stood up as well.           

“Michael is out of surgery. It was touch and go for a little while, but his vitals have stabilized, and he’s no longer at risk of bleeding out,” the doctor said. Geoff’s shoulders slumped, and Ray closed his eyes, silently grateful that everything was okay. “Now we’re just waiting to see if he wakes up.”           

“Wait, you mean he might not?” Ryan demanded, and Ray’s eyes flew open, his hands grabbing at Gavin’s shirt and Gavin grabbing at him.           

The doctor grimaced and shook his head. “We don’t know right now. At this point, it’s hard to tell, since he is still under the effects of the anesthesia. But Michael did sustain significant damage to his head in the accident. We’re hoping that it’s something he can easily recover from, and that he’ll regain consciousness within a few hours, but we have to consider the possibility that he may not.”           

“Can we see him?” Gavin pleaded, and the doctor nodded.           

“He’s being moved to a room now. You’re welcome to go back to see him for a little while,” the doctor said sympathetically, smiling at them before he turned away and left them in the waiting room, shell-shocked and more worried for their boyfriend than ever before.

\----- 

It had been a little over a month since Michael had had his accident, and there was still no change. He hadn’t gotten any worse, but he also hadn’t woken up. The doctors were starting to say that he might not ever wake up, not if it had been that long, and while the others refused to believe it or let Michael just fade away like that, the possibility was growing every day.           

One of Michael’s boyfriends was always by his side, and they had worked out a rotation that allowed time for sleep, food, and showers between their vigils. Michael had had other visitors, friends who had heard about what had happened, but his boyfriends were the ones who frequented his hospital room the most.           

Jack was currently at Michael’s side, staring down at a book in his lap without fully taking in the words. He was pretty sure he’d read the same paragraph five times already, and he still didn’t know a single word he’d read. He was too distracted.           

Michael was lying on the hospital bed beside Jack, hooked up to various machines by tubes and wires. The machines beeped and whirred and made various noises that the doctors assured were perfectly normal. Michael was on oxygen, an IV was sticking out of his arm, and electrodes were stuck to his chest. It wasn’t right, seeing Michael like this, unconscious and hooked up to so much that he looked like a cyborg. Jack kept waiting for him to wake up and ask what the fuck all this shit was.           

But it was looking more and more likely that Michael’s coma wasn’t going to end. That he would just slip away, asleep and quiet and without the loud fight Jack would have expected from him. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right, but it wasn’t exactly something they could change… He didn’t want it to be true, and convincing the other lads of it was damn near impossible at this point, but Jack figured denying it wouldn’t make it any better.           

It would probably just make it worse if they did lose Michael.           

Jack finally closed his book and set it aside, simply watching Michael for a moment. It really did look like Michael was just sleeping, like he’d wake up any minute. Sure, one of his legs had been bound in a cast, but he didn’t look much different than he did lying next to Jack in bed in the morning. Right before Jack would have to wake him up and force him out of bed to deal with the day.           

Jack reached out and grabbed Michael’s hand, holding it between both of his own, and he licked his lips. He felt like he should say something, because maybe Michael could hear him, and maybe talking would help bring him back. It wasn’t like they hadn’t tried already, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep going. And if he didn’t wake up…well, Jack wanted to make sure Michael heard his voice as much as possible until then.           

“Hey,” he said quietly, clearing his throat. If only he knew Michael could hear him, if only he could feel Michael’s fingers squeeze his own, to acknowledge that his boyfriend was still there… “I was just thinking… I love you, you know that, right? We all do, and we’re all here waiting for you to come back to us. The doctors aren’t as hopeful anymore, they think you’ve been out too long, but I know how much of a stubborn idiot you are. You can fight this.”           

Staring at Michael’s still face, Jack smiled slightly, one of his thumbs absently rubbing circles on the back of Michael’s hand. “Y’know, I still remember the first time you said you loved me. You were the very last one – even Ryan beat you to the punch, and he’s one of the most awkward people ever. I think he actually flubbed most of his words before they all came out.           

“But you… I know we were fighting about something, but I can’t remember what the argument was about. It was something really stupid, I know that much. Not a real fight, but I very clearly remember you interrupting me and screaming, ‘Because I fucking love you, asshole!’” Jack snorted out a brief laugh and shook his head, staring down at Michael’s hand between his own.           

“You were so shocked you even said anything like that, and you looked like a deer in the headlights. Though I think if you hadn’t done that, I would’ve thought you were joking. You know how long it took for me to realize Geoff and Ray were serious? They tell everyone they love them without meaning much by it. But you were really freaked, and it was kind of cute, honestly.”           

Jack cleared his throat, a lump forming that made him choke on his last few words, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. He swiped at his eyes beneath his glasses with the back of a hand, the other one squeezing Michael’s hand tightly, possessively. Jack never wanted to let go.           

“You better wake up, Michael. Because I fucking love you, asshole,” Jack muttered, staring at Michael’s face as it became blurred by unshed tears and the tightness in Jack’s chest stole his breath away. And yet Michael lay unmoving and unresponsive, oblivious to the attempted conversation.

\----- 

Ryan stood just inside the door of Michael’s room, watching his boyfriend and silently hoping that he would finally wake up. He’d open his eyes and look at Ryan and demand to know why the fuck Ryan looked like he was standing at someone’s death bed, and get over here, I’m fine, you idiot. Michael would try and laugh off what had happened, try to make Ryan feel better with a stupid joke or really benign complaints. Ryan would demand that Michael never get in a situation like this ever again, because all of them were worried sick and were afraid he wouldn’t wake up, and Michael would get fed up with his babbling and how Ryan would have to restart sentences multiple times before he stopped jumbling words because of the stress. Michael would kiss him to make him shut up, and everything would be okay.           

Except none of that was happening and, if the doctors were to be believed, might not ever happen. Michael continued to lay perfectly still in his bed, covered by a thin blanket and hooked up to various machines. The gifts that brightened the room just upset Ryan more. Flowers and cards and cute presents littered almost every surface. A lot of their friends had brought in the gifts when they’d heard, and Ryan thought it was more for his and the others’ benefit than Michael’s. Michael didn’t know what was in the room with him right now, he couldn’t, and he’d probably just gripe about people bringing him all this shit when he woke up.           

Finally, Ryan stepped up next to the bed, slowly settling down in the lumpy armchair they were all practically living in. He cleared his throat, twisting his hands together in his lap as he stared at Michael’s slack face. Ryan watched his chest rise and fall steadily with his breathing, and he knew beneath the hospital gown and the blanket, his boyfriend had scars from the surgery that had saved his life.           

“Hey, Michael,” Ryan said after a moment. Talking always felt better than silence in this room. It kept him from always hearing the beeping and whirring from the machines, from listening to Michael’s quiet breathing as his boyfriend slept on. That, and he really hoped Michael could hear him. There were lots of stories about how people in comas could pick out what was going on around them. Ryan just hoped they were true.           

“I, uh, would’ve been here sooner. Like, two hours ago. But I was trying to fix that hole you put in the wall a couple weeks ago,” Ryan said. He still had white caulk stuck to the creases in his fingers and beneath his nails, and he wouldn’t be surprised if there was some on his face or in his hair, too. “Y’know, from where you kicked the wall after you got your ass beat in a game?”           

Ryan shook his head, brushing his hair out of his face and scooting closer, until he was perched at the very edge of the armchair. “Gavin didn’t want me to fix it. He wanted it to stay there, to…to remember you by. Just, um, just in case…” Ryan’s voice trailed off and he cleared his throat again, feeling a lump forming in the back of it. He didn’t want to think about Michael not coming back, about having only the five of them in the apartment. Each and every one of Ryan’s boyfriends held a special place in his heart, and Michael not being there left an aching hole. He couldn’t imagine feeling that all the time.           

“I told Gavin we had to fix it. Because if…no, _when_ , you wake up, I know you’d want to know why the hell we let a hole in the wall sit there. You’d yell at Gavin for being an idiot and having no faith in you when he told you why it was still there,” Ryan said, and his words almost sounded distant and detached. He was just talking at this point, filling the uncomfortable silence with something he thought might be comforting.           

“Besides, you can make more holes like that later. In fact, you better be making more holes around our apartment,” Ryan said, his voice growing a little stronger, more stern, and he frowned at Michael and clamped a hand down on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I don’t care if I have to fix them all. I don’t care if you do it all the damn time. You just better be around to do it in the first place, got it?”           

Needless to say, Ryan didn’t receive an answer. He squeezed Michaels shoulder and then grabbed Michael’s hand, bringing it up to his lips. Michael’s skin was warm and familiar against Ryan’s mouth, and Ryan hoped that it never lost that warmth and life.           

Who the fuck knew how they would all take it if that went away.

\----- 

Geoff didn’t like the hospital. Not one bit.           

It was too clean, too bright, too fake. Nothing seemed like it was actually real. The people who worked there seemed to move like robots, going from one thing to the next on a set path. Their sympathy didn’t seem right, they just seemed wrong. The entire building felt like a fucking movie set, newly constructed and so far unused. People came and went, but no one really wanted to be there, and the visitors were quiet and awkward and unsure while roaming the halls. They seemed to realize something was very wrong, too.           

When Geoff had walked in a while ago, the nurses at the station up front had looked at him with a strained sadness that made him feel like it was just an act they put on. They had to pretend to feel sorry for the poor guys that trekked in and out of their boyfriends’ room at all times of the day, when everyone in the damn building seemed to just _know_ that it was pointless.           

But maybe that’s why it felt so wrong, why Geoff was so upset by all of the bullshit around him. The doctors, the nurses, they all seemed sure that nothing would change at this point. He hadn’t been told so explicitly – they continued to push their false optimism at him, but he caught the looks they exchanged, he saw the small shakes of their heads and the pitying looks they gave him when they thought he wasn’t looking. But no one could be _sure_ that Michael wouldn’t make it. At least no one here. They didn’t _know_ Michael, they didn’t know what they were saying, they didn’t know how he could fight.           

Geoff had even noticed some of the others looking at Michael like the doctors did. Jack was getting quieter, more subdued and resigned any time they were there together. It was like he had already accepted all the bullshit the doctors were pulling out of their fucking asses, like he’d already given up on Michael and said his goodbyes.           

Unlike them, though, Geoff _knew_ , in his heart and in his mind and fucking everywhere, that they’d get Michael back. And he could shove it in all their faces, that they were wrong and how he felt was right.           

Just now, however, the possibility of doing that was looking bleaker with each passing day, no matter how hard Geoff fought to remain positive.           

Nothing had changed with Michael, not one damn thing. He was fed and was breathing through tubes, his heart rate and oxygen levels never changed. His breathing remained calm and steady and peaceful, as if he were sleeping.           

“I found the snake you put in my sock drawer, you asshole,” Geoff informed his boyfriend, his words almost loud in the artificial silence all hospital rooms seemed to possess. Michael didn’t move or respond, and Geoff continued. “Gavin ratted you out, once everyone was done laughing. You _know_ I don’t like snakes, and I definitely don’t like them curled up in my socks!”           

The heart monitor beeped steadily, and Geoff took that as a response, shrugging one shoulder and crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, I know it was just a toy snake, but still! It looked so real, and you never know, one could’ve actually found its way into my sock drawer all on its own. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and then we’d both be lying in this stupid place. I hope you’re happy,” Geoff huffed.           

Slowly, after a minute of the silence of the room, Geoff let his arms fall back down to his lap. He stood up and leaned lightly on the railing along the side of Michael’s bed. Sometimes, Geoff swore he still saw faint bruises on his skin, a few on his face swallowing up the freckles across his nose and cheeks, though it must’ve just been the lighting. It was probably a good thing that, like usual, Michael had refused to put on his glasses. Otherwise they’d be broken, and his nose would probably be hurt from getting his glasses shoved into them.           

“But now I know it’s you. If I find one more snake in anything of mine, or anything I use, like the fridge again, I’m beating your ass,” Geoff swore, brushing a stray curl off of Michael’s forehead. “Maybe Gavin’s, too, for good measure. He insists he had nothing to do with hit, but I don’t really believe him. Gavin almost always has something to do with it.”           

Sighing heavily, Geoff leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on Michael’s forehead. Then he ducked his head and rested his forehead against Michael’s, closing his eyes and just letting himself believe for a moment that nothing was wrong. That he and Michael were just hanging out in the living room together, and Geoff was pushing his head against Michael’s to try and distract the lad from whatever he was doing.           

It was a nice, comforting thought, and Geoff stayed right there for a little while, just picturing how things would be when Michael woke up again.

\----- 

It always amused Ray how people would send someone in Michael’s situation food. They weren’t going to eat it, at least not until it went bad, and he wondered if it was more for the people that stayed at the bedside and waited. He didn’t know about other people who kept this kind of a vigil, but he got tired and hungry and restless sitting there too long. So he was kind of grateful for whoever had left the little box of chocolates on Michael’s bedside table.           

“I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t eaten dinner yet,” Ray said, looking at Michael with an arched eyebrow as he reached over to grab the box. Just like the last month, there was no answer, and Ray nodded. “I thought you’d be okay with it. Thanks, man.”           

Ray grabbed the box and popped it open, focusing on unwrapping one of the chocolate pieces. A lot of people would say that he was in denial, trying to avoid the problem at hand in place of acting like nothing was wrong. Those people would probably be right.           

The last week or so, Ray had tried to ignore everything that everyone was telling him. He didn’t care that Michael should have woken up by now and he might have received enough brain damage from the accident that he’d never get up again. He didn’t care that Michael could be like this forever, until his boyfriends decided it was time to let him go.           

As far as Ray was concerned, Michael was just catching up on needed sleep. What better time to do it than when your body was hurt and needed to recover and you couldn’t do much else anyway? Michael would wake up. He had to wake up.           

Ray put the chocolate in his mouth, sucking on it until it started to melt. His fingers reached out and gently touched the bed’s railing. Not for the first time, he considered putting it down and crawling onto the bed beside Michael. He wanted to feel his boyfriend pressed up against him, comforting and familiar and nice, while Ray played video games and waited for Michael to open his eyes.           

He had gotten into bed with Michael once since Michael had been moved into the room, but the nurse had – politely – insisted he not do that, because it could make Michael’s injuries worse. One wrong move, an elbow or knee or heel jabbed into the wrong spot, could knock loose stitching or open an injury that was closing up on its own. So Ray had gone back to his seat, but he still wanted to do it again.           

“I don’t know why people give you chocolatey stuff. That’s not good for someone who’s lactose intolerant, right?” Ray said, opening up another chocolate and shoving it in his mouth. “Though if it weren’t for Gavin, we wouldn’t even know that, so I guess a lot of people might not.”           

Ray paused, chewing up the chocolate and taking a moment to clear pieces of the gooey candy from his teeth. “Do you remember that? Gavin bought each of us these great big boxes of chocolate for Valentine’s Day – totally tried to one-up my awesome cards – and he bet you couldn’t eat all of yours in two minutes. A hundred bucks, for you to eat lots of candy and drink some milk.           

“I remember that you finished it really fucking easy. Gavin was all upset that you did it, but halfway through gloating, you raced off toward the bathroom,” Ray continued, smirking as he sought out the perfect piece of chocolate for him to eat next. “We could all hear you throwing up, and Gavin started shouting that you didn’t actually win the bet cause you couldn’t even keep it all down for ‘thirty bloody seconds’.           

“I think Ryan made him give you the hundred dollars, cause you ate it all and had to throw it all up. But none of us knew that would happen if you ate all that shit and drank all that milk. Jack was all worried and fretty and mama-bird, but Geoff thought it was fucking _hilarious_ that you couldn’t have a lot of milk,” Ray chuckled.           

Michael didn’t answer, didn’t even stir, as Ray scarfed down another piece of candy. Whoever had bought it had really good taste – it was delicious, and amounted to a wonderful dinner. “But maybe you can try and get Gavin to give you more money if you do it again. And this time you have pity points on your side – you can totally show him up,” Ray suggested.           

He looked up from the chocolate box and bit his lip, letting out a heavy breath through his nose. He looked at Michael for a minute and then got up, climbing onto the bed to perch near Michael’s feet. Wiggling around so that he was comfortable, Ray pulled his DS out of his pocket and clicked it on, starting up his game while make sure his leg was pressed against Michael’s.

\----- 

“I got you a present,” Gavin announced as he stepped into the room. Pretty much everything was the same as the last time he’d been there, except he didn’t have any of the others with him this time. They all said they had something important they needed to do, but Gavin thought they were just giving excuses. There was nothing more important than making sure Michael was okay, and that they were close at hand for when he woke up. Gavin didn’t want him to wake up to an empty room, not when he had five boyfriends who loved him dearly that could be right there.           

Gavin stepped up to the bed, pulling his present out of the plastic shopping bag it had been hastily shoved in. Jack had gently told him that it didn’t need to be hidden from Michael, because Michael wouldn’t notice one way or another, but Gavin had ignored him. What if Michael was awake when he came in? He didn’t want to ruin the surprise. And even though Michael wasn’t awake yet, it was a good precaution, and none of the others could convince Gavin otherwise.           

A teddy bear dangled in Gavin’s hand from its arm and Gavin smiled faintly, setting it on the bed beside Michael’s pillow. The bear was dressed up as a knight, with a visor and plush chest plate and a little sword held in its fist, a shield attached to its other arm. Despite that, it was smiling, happy to face whatever soft and plush enemy came its way.           

“I got you a Mogar bear,” Gavin said, sitting down in the chair and reaching up to the stuffed Mogar. He adjusted how it was sitting slightly, making sure it was touching Michael. “He’s gonna help you. You’re a really good Mogar already, but you can always use help. And two Mogars are better than one, right?”           

Even as he spoke, Gavin’s vision blurred with tears and he sniffled. His chest was tight and there was a lump in his throat as a tear rolled down his cheek. “With two of you fighting, you just gotta wake up, Michael,” he said quietly, and he didn’t even know if he could speak louder. “You’re my boi. My big, strong boi that can fight back against anything. No silly car accident will keep the great Mogar down, I know it.”           

Unable to keep his hands still, Gavin reached for the bear again and placed it in the crook of Michael’s arm, as if Michael were cuddling it. Gavin carefully maneuvered the soft sword so it was held in Michael’s hand, and then Gavin curled Michael’s fingers around it.           

“See, he can help. He can fight, and you’ll wake up. I know you’ll wake up,” Gavin said, and he knew he was starting to babble, but he didn’t care. Maybe if Michael heard, if he knew how upset Gavin and the others were, he’d wake up and tell them it would all be okay.           

“You can’t leave me, Michael. You can’t. And you can’t leave everyone else. We _need_ you. All of us do,” Gavin continued, and tears were falling freely now. His hand covered Michael’s, keeping Michael’s fingers wrapped around the little bear’s sword. “You just gotta wake up. I don’t…I don’t know what we’d do without you. What I’d do without you. You need to be here, Michael.”           

The lump in Gavin’s throat grew too large for him to continue speaking and he stopped, leaning forward so his head was pressed against the bed’s railing. His shoulders shook and low sobs came bubbling up his throat. His nose was runny and his eyes burned and his head hurt, a combination of stress and sleep deprivation and just the sheer amount of worry and sadness and everything he’d been feeling in the last few weeks.           

Stuffed Mogar continued to smile at him, almost like he was trying to tell Gavin it would all be okay, and Gavin stared at the bear’s little face. It would definitely help Michael, there was no doubt about it. The bear would help and Michael would get better, and he’d sit up and make fun of Gavin for blubbering on like a baby when nothing was really wrong.           

That bear promised Gavin all these good things that no one else seemed to believe anymore, and Gavin listened, grasping onto the bear just as tightly as he hoped Michael was.

\----- 

When he opened his eyes, it felt like he had just woken up from a very shitty, impromptu nap. He didn’t even remember going to sleep in the first place. His head hurt and the lights were really bright, making him screw his eyes shut and mumble something about turning them off.

Someone’s hand curled tightly around his own, and there was a light gasp from beside him. He didn’t even want to know what the others were doing right there, not right now. He just wanted to go back to sleep, and fuck them. Except, well, not really. Not now. He was too tired. But maybe they could turn out the lights. That’d be nice.           

“Michael?” Gavin whispered, his words thick and slurred in a way that Michael was more than used to. He was sleepy, probably just waking up himself, and Michael blinked his eyes open again, chancing the glaring lights that seemed to stab at his eyes.           

The first thing Michael noticed were all the flowers and balloons and shit around. Then it was the colored wires, snaking from his chest and his arms and up from beneath a gown he definitely didn’t own. Then, he heard the beeping from the machines, and he could feel the cool metal of the IV needle jabbed into his arm.           

Finally, Michael noticed Gavin. His boyfriend sat beside his bed, and Gavin’s hair was even messier than normal, if that were possible. Gavin’s eyes were red and puffy and half-lidded with sleep but rapidly widening, his mouth dropping open in shock and glee and more emotions that Michael even wanted to try to figure out.           

It was hard to know what was going on with Gavin normally, let alone when Michael’s head was pounding as bad as it was.           

“Michael! You’re awake!” Gavin shrieked, and Michael winced as the sound only made his headache worse. Gavin leaped up from his seat and dove forward, wrapping his arms around Michael’s neck. Pain and tightness flared up from…well, everywhere, and Michael hissed in discomfort. Gavin quickly drew back, his hands planted on either side of Michael’s head, his wide eyes now worried. “Oh, did I hurt you?”           

“No, no, it’s…it’s okay,” Michael said, and his voice was weak and raspy and it hurt his throat, like he hadn’t used it much recently. He realized his throat burned with thirst and his stomach rumbled with hunger and he grimaced, reaching up to touch at his neck.           

A stuffed bear came up with his hand, dangling from a plush sword it held in its paw, and Michael stared at it blankly. That was new, and definitely something he didn’t own.           

“What happened?” Michael croaked, looking around for some water. Gavin must’ve known what he wanted, because he reached around behind a half-eaten box of candy and pulled a cup of water from the table. It must’ve been Gavin’s, cause it was mostly gone, but Gavin gingerly helped Michael sit up enough that he could drink from it.           

“You were in an accident. You weren’t waking up, and we were so worried, Michael…” Gavin said, and Michael frowned, trying to remember what had happened. “Oh! I should go tell the doctors you’re awake, and I gotta call the others! They’re gonna want to know right away!”           

The cup was taken away from Michael’s face quickly and Gavin bounced up, grinning. “You’ll be okay by yourself for a minute, right?”           

Michael nodded slowly, a small smile spreading across his face from Gavin’s energy and excitement. “Of course. I’ll live,” Michael promised, pulling the stuffed bear up against his chest. Gavin nodded and snatched his phone out of his pocket, turning away to leave.           

“Oh, Gavin?” Michael said, and Gavin immediately turned around on his heel and stepped up to Michael’s bedside again. “I love you.”           

“I love you too, boi,” Gavin said, and a quick laugh forced its way out of his throat. “Bloody hell, I love you.” Gavin bent down and kissed Michael on the mouth, light and gentle. The kiss lasted a few seconds, and Michael closed his eyes, smiling happily as Gavin pulled away.           

So maybe something had gone wrong, and he’d gotten really hurt. Maybe he’d upset his boyfriends really bad, to a point even he didn’t know about. Maybe he’d freaked out Gavin and made them all nervous wrecks. But that kiss, that gentle kiss and declaration of Gavin’s love, was all Michael needed to know that everything would be okay.


End file.
